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	Thursday, 13 March, 2008, 1:00 GMT 09:00 +08:00:Asia/Shanghai

Runway success
Your task: design the perfect airport. What does it look like?

Washington diary
Matt Frei on the sex scandal surrounding New York's governor




TOP STORIES

	Darling puts up car and drink tax Chancellor Alistair Darling unveils big increases in tax on alcohol and high polluting cars in his first Budget.

	Top officer sent 'worrying texts' Police chief Michael Todd sent a series of "worrying" text messages before being found dead, the BBC learns.

	Scandal-hit NY governor resigns New York Governor Eliot Spitzer says he will step down on Monday, after being linked to a prostitution ring.

	Clinton aide quits over race row A Clinton adviser resigns over comments that Barack Obama is leading the Democratic race because he is black.

	Israelis kill four in West Bank Israeli undercover commandos shoot dead four Palestinian militants in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.




WORLD

	Scandal-hit NY governor resigns New York Governor Eliot Spitzer says he will step down on Monday, after being linked to a prostitution ring.

	Israelis kill four in West Bank Israeli undercover commandos shoot dead four Palestinian militants in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

	Clinton aide quits over race row A Clinton adviser resigns over comments that Barack Obama is leading the Democratic race because he is black.




AFRICA

	Darfur force 'may last 10 years' The UN-African Union force in Darfur could last for another 10 years, the head of the force tells the BBC.

	E Guinea exile wins asylum right A Spanish court restores asylum status to exiled Equatorial Guinea opposition leader Severo Moto.

	Liberian shock at grave looting Liberians visiting graveyards on National Decoration Day are shocked by the desecration of tombs.




AMERICAS

	Scandal-hit NY governor resigns New York Governor Eliot Spitzer says he will step down on Monday, after being linked to a prostitution ring.

	Clinton aide quits over race row A Clinton adviser resigns over comments that Barack Obama is leading the Democratic race because he is black.

	Peru meteorite may rewrite rules The Peruvian meteorite impact that sparked mass panic last year has provided some tantalising new science.




ASIA-PACIFIC

	Beijing rebuffs Olympics critics Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi accuses "anti-China forces" of trying to politicise the Beijing Olympics.

	HK schools close amid flu fears Kindergartens and primary schools close in Hong Kong, amid fears of a flu-like epidemic.

	Ousted Thai PM appears in court Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra pleads not guilty to corruption charges in a Bangkok court.




EUROPE

	Second SocGen employee detained A second employee at Societe Generale is arrested as part of an investigation into huge losses at the bank.

	France's final WWI veteran dies The last of France's surviving World War I veterans, Lazare Ponticelli, dies at the age of 110.

	Austria remembers Nazi annexation Austria remembers the 70th anniversary of the Nazi takeover with a special parliamentary session.




MIDDLE EAST

	Israelis kill four in West Bank Israeli undercover commandos shoot dead four Palestinian militants in the West Bank town of Bethlehem.

	Iran accuses MP over TV interview Iran's intelligence minister accuses a leading reformist MP of treason, for talking to a US-funded television station.

	Jordan releases Zarqawi 'mentor' Jordan frees a man said to be the mentor of the late head of al-Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.




SOUTH ASIA

	Afghan becomes open heart surgeon An Afghan doctor has become the first ever medic in his war-torn country to qualify as an open-heart surgeon.

	Sri Lankan journalists detained The arrest of five Sri Lankan journalists by anti-terrorist police alarms media rights campaigners.

	Airstrike kills Afghan civilians Four Afghan civilians are killed in an airstrike by British forces, the Ministry of Defence confirms.




UK

	Darling puts up car and drink tax Chancellor Alistair Darling unveils big increases in tax on alcohol and high polluting cars in his first Budget.

	Top officer sent 'worrying texts' Police chief Michael Todd sent a series of "worrying" text messages before being found dead, the BBC learns.

	Second man quizzed over Goa death Police in Goa hold a second man in connection with the rape and murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling.




ENGLAND

	Top officer sent 'worrying texts' Police chief Michael Todd sent a series of "worrying" text messages before being found dead, the BBC learns.

	Second man quizzed over Goa death Police in Goa hold a second man in connection with the rape and murder of British teenager Scarlett Keeling.

	Man loses grape case against M&S An accountant who slipped on a grape and injured himself loses his case for damages against Marks and Spencer.




NORTHERN IRELAND

	Body found after blaze at house The body of a woman is removed from a house in south Belfast after a blaze breaks out at the property.

	Doctor is jailed over cancer scam A doctor is jailed for four years over a 731,000 euros fraud which saw him falsely claim his wife had cancer.

	Budget to bring additional £21m An additional £21m is coming to Northern Ireland, Finance Minister Peter Robinson has said.




SCOTLAND

	Waterfront development sparks row Fife politicians and planners are accused of trying to scupper an opportunity to create 6,000 jobs.

	MSP calls for bridge wind changes Scottish Government incompetence claim for having no system for stopping lorries on the Forth Road Bridge.

	Stamp honours Barra lifeboat crew A lifeboat crew from the Western Isles see their bravery recognised on a new series of Royal Mail stamps.




WALES

	Tributes paid to late composer Tributes are paid to Alun Hoddinott, one of Wales' leading classical composers, who has died.

	Hammam named in Cardiff loan case The former chairman of an FA Cup semi-finalist club is named as the man behind a bank demanding £31m in loans are repaid.

	Top officer sent 'worrying texts' Police chief Michael Todd sent a series of "worrying" text messages before being found dead, the BBC learns.




POLITICS

	Darling puts up car and drink tax Chancellor Alistair Darling unveils big increases in tax on alcohol and high polluting cars in his first Budget.

	Cameron criticises 'dire' Budget Conservative leader David Cameron responds to Alistair Darling's first Budget as chancellor.

	Deselection row MP leaves Tories The Conservatives say they have withdrawn the party whip from MP Bob Spink - he says he has resigned.




BUSINESS

	Darling puts up car and drink tax Chancellor Alistair Darling unveils big increases in tax on alcohol and high polluting cars in his first Budget.

	Hunt for Liechtenstein tax mole Liechtenstein issues an international arrest warrant for the mole at the centre of a giant tax evasion probe.

	Homebuilder dropped from FTSE 100 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey loses its blue-chip status in the latest reshuffle of the widely tracked FTSE 100 index.




ENTERTAINMENT

	Pratchett funds Alzheimer's study Fantasy author and Alzheimer's sufferer Terry Pratchett is to donate $1m to research into the disease.

	Bionic gives ITV2 record ratings The first episode of US drama The Bionic Woman gives ITV2 its largest ever audience, initial figures suggest.

	Police probe Clarkson phone photo Police examine a photo that allegedly shows Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson talking on a mobile phone while driving.




SCIENCE/NATURE

	Peru meteorite may rewrite rules The Peruvian meteorite impact that sparked mass panic last year has provided some tantalising new science.

	Japan marvels at its Moon movies Stunning high-definition movies of the Moon's surface are returned by Japan's Selene probe.

	Cassini to make audacious flyby Nasa directs its Cassini spacecraft to make an ultra-close pass of the Saturnian moon Enceladus.




TECHNOLOGY

	Open Rights Group questions Phorm Campaign body the Open Rights Group (ORG) calls for further detail on the workings of ad system Phorm.

	Virtual demos over net censorship Thousands of people are taking part in "virtual protests" against countries accused of censoring the internet.

	Wiki boss 'edited for donation' Wikipedia creator Jimmy Wales is accused of agreeing to edit a Wiki page in exchange for a donation.




HEALTH

	Pratchett funds Alzheimer's study Fantasy author and Alzheimer's sufferer Terry Pratchett is to donate $1m to research into the disease.

	Vitamin D 'cuts risk of diabetes' Giving young children vitamin D supplements may cut their risk of type 1 diabetes, research suggests.

	Chinese medicine 'eases eczema' A traditional Chinese herbal medicine of five herb extracts could benefit eczema patients, research suggests.




EDUCATION

	Row over school admissions claims A head teacher and the government trade accusations over claims that schools broke the law.

	School admits £50 'admission fee' A state faith school says it asked parents for a £50 "admission fee", as others are investigated.

	£200m to boost GCSEs in schools The Chancellor says struggling schools will be given extra cash to help raise standards by 2011.

ON THIS DAY NEWS FROM THE BBC ARCHIVES

1996: Massacre in Dunblane school gym
A lone gunman goes on a shooting spree at a school in Dunblane, Scotland, killing 16 children and their teacher.

1961: Five Britons accused of spying for Moscow
Three men and two women go on trial at the Old Bailey charged with plotting to pass secrets to the Russians.

1983: Nkomo flees Zimbabwe 'death threats'
The Zimbabwe opposition leader flies into London as his country appears to be on the brink of civil war.




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